Newsletter 2022/38 ~ 9 December 2022

As partners in Catholic Education and open to God’s presence, we pursue the fullness of life for all.

St. Patrick’s School is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all students.

St. Patrick's School is a child safe school.

We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Victoria and pay respect to the ongoing living cultures of First Peoples. 

This newsletter comes to you from the lands of the Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia and Jupagalk Nations.

From the Principal

Whenever we gaze into a crib this Christmas season

May new hope and joy flood our spirit

Whenever we watch babies and young children playing

May a new energy delight our hearts

Whenever we are tantalised by the aroma of a BBQ

May we unwind, relax and enjoy time off

Whenever the crush of family and friends overwhelms us

May the hospitality of our hearts expand

Whenever we provide a meal or bed over the holidays

May we experience love and appreciation

Whenever we spy our reflection in the mirror or the pool

May we find ourselves to be images of God

Whenever we put our feet up for leisure

May the humble presence of the Incarnate One companion us

Whenever we feel our distance from each other around the world

May the Christ child draw us into unity.

Amen.

CURRENT & RECENT EVENTS

School Advisory Council Annual Meeting

The SAC Annual Meeting was held on Tuesday evening.  Thank you to those who were able to attend, and those who sent in their apologies.

The following people were elected for two-year terms: Zanny McEldrew, Moo Khu James, Bec Curtis and Michaela Koop; and they join Emily Gladdis and Nathan Wheeler  who will be in the second year of their two-year terms; and we thank them for their commitment to this group and the school.

The SAC Annual Report has been added to the school website for you to read.

The next SAC meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, 21 February.

Tom Sexton visit

We enjoyed a visit by the Executive Director of Catholic Education Ballarat, Mr Tom Sexton on Wednesday afternoon. As well as meeting with myself to discuss the school year and our plans for 2023, Mr Sexton was also given a full and informative tour of our school buildings and surrounds by Year 4 students, Olive and Jonas.

Mr Sexton commented on the welcoming atmosphere of our school and how impressed he is by our grounds.  

During our discussions, we spoke about the difficulties of finding teaching staff across all schools but particularly for rural and remote schools.  We also spoke about our plans for expansion and he was supportive of our endeavours with this.

Mr Sexton extended his best wishes to all members of the St Patrick’s School community for the upcoming Christmas  celebrations.

Staffing 2023

As mentioned previously, Mrs Munro and Mrs Creek will be retiring at the end of the school year.  Mrs Munro has been on staff at St Patrick’s School for 32 years and Mrs Creek for the past 8 years.

Miss Ainslee Walker, who has been on leave since June 2021, has advised that she will not be returning at the end of her leave period.

Ms Jo Murphy, who was appointed to replace Miss Walker during her period of leave, will also not be continuing beyond the end of the current school year.

I thank each of these staff members for their contributions to our school, the children and our families.

Yesterday and today we welcomed Miss Margaret Attard to our school.  Miss Attard will be moving from Melbourne in the new year and will be teaching in the senior classroom in 2023.

Classes and Teachers for 2023

• F-1 Miss Kate Williams
• 2-4 Yet to be confirmed
• 5-6 Miss Margaret Attard

Transition Day

Today we welcomed our 2023 Foundation students for their last full day visit with us.  We look forward to them returning as members of our school community on the first day of school (30 January) next year.

Dental Health

Today we had the Dental Health Nurse return to catch up with the students who were missed last time they came.

School Wide Positive Behaviour 

Staff have been noting students demonstrating aspects of Respect, Responsibility and Safety throughout the school day.  Students are issued with a ticket with their name on it and these are placed in a container.  During our weekly assembly, three names are drawn randomly and those students’ Houses each receive a token for their House jar.  The House with the most tokens later in the year will be rewarded.

Congratulations to all children who were recognised for their positive actions around the school this week.   Elvi (Patrick), Amity (Joseph)  and Freddie (Joseph) were randomly drawn from the nominations for Respect, Responsibility and Safety, and have added tokens to their respective Houses' tallies.

Joseph house won the final marbles tally.

Colour Run

As a consequence of their winning the SWPBS Marble Tally, Joseph students met this morning to determine a fun activity for all students to participate in next week.  After some discussion they decided upon a Colour Run Dodge Ball game.  This will be held next Friday after recess.

Our Graduation Mass will be at 9.30am next Friday and all students are required to be in school uniform for this.

Students will need to bring a change of clothes that they can change into after recess so that they can participate in the colour run.  It is recommended that children bring a white T-shirt (for best effect) or old clothes for this activity.

For further information, please see the Activities Week notice that has been sent home to all families.

RAT kits

This year’s final batch of RAT kits were sent home this week.

UPCOMING EVENTS

No lunch orders

This week was the last for lunch orders.  Next Wednesday’s pizza lunch is being generously supplied by Wimmera Bakery.

Activities Week

Starting Monday, we will be celebrating the last week of school with our Activities Week.  A roster of activities has been sent to all families, so please check it to see what is needed each day.

Permission is required for the two off-site excursions.  Please return the permission reply slip by Monday.  Notes for those students who are absent today will be emailed.

Graduation Ceremony & Mass

Our Graduation Ceremony will be held on Thursday evening from 6.00pm in the school hall.

Families have received invitations to this event and are asked to RSVP by Monday 12 December.

The evening will include reports from each class, acknowledgement of our students who are graduating to secondary school and others who are leaving us at the end of this year.

Families are invited to bring along dinner to eat after the ceremony as we enjoy some social time together.  No alcohol is allowed.

Graduation Mass will be celebrated with Fr Matt on Friday 16 December at 9.30am.  All families and parishioners are invited and encouraged to attend Mass if available to do so.

Newsletter next week

This is the last newsletter for 2022.  We will have a small information sheet next week with key information and dates for 2023.

Nhill Christmas Carols in the Park

Our students have been rehearsing in readiness for the Nhill Carols next Saturday evening at Jaypex Park.  Students will be performing two songs - Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. They will also combine with all other performers on the night for a well known Christmas Carol.

Students are asked to wear their school uniform for the performance but can also add Christmas decorations.

School Uniforms Reminder

A reminder to check your child’s school uniforms and make your orders with Cambrelle’s during December so that new uniforms are ready for the start of the year.  Any uniforms that your child has grown out of can be given directly to another student.  The school does keep a limited supply of (new) summer dresses and second-hand uniforms, but does not need any more at the moment.

Our Josephite Heritage

The Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, often called the "Josephites" or "Brown Joeys", were founded in Penola, South Australia, in 1866 by Mary MacKillop and the Rev. Julian Tenison Woods. In 1949, three Josephite sisters arrived in Nhill to open St Patrick’s School. In 1978, the Sisters of St Joseph informed the Nhill Parish that they would no longer be able to maintain their role within the school.

We endeavour to honour our Josephite heritage through the regular presentation of the Little Joey awards at our assemblies. In support of this we also include a reflection from Mary MacKillop on our newsletter each week.

Classroom and Student News

Junior Class

It was fun to share another book of the ladybird series titled What the Ladybird Heard on Holiday, by Julia Donaldson. Hefty Hugh and Lanky Len were tricked again by the ladybird’s suggestion. I’ll let your children tell you about the surprise ending. For Mathematics, it has been beneficial to revisit the ‘friends of ten’ for additional facts. Our room is being decorated for Christmas and Activities Week to follow. We sang songs and enjoyed retelling the first Christmas scene. The last Kinder orientation takes place today. We have a full day of fun planned around the children’s fairy tale of  The Gingerbread Man.

Middle Class

What amazing fun and excitement we had last week at Middles camp. On Thursday we packed the bus and hopped on for our journey to Halls Gap. 

On arrival at Tandara we unpacked the bus and set up our cabins. Then we were able to have some recess and some free time on the playground and basketball court. When recess was over we met in the hall to meet Justin and have a welcoming induction. Then we had lunch and started our activities. We all went up to the top of the flying kookaburra and enjoyed our two times flying and making kookaburra sounds, even though some of us didn’t sound like kookaburras. Next we got to experience the low ropes course and make our way around the different obstacles, we even found some very long gum leaves. After low ropes we painted some boomerangs which we have brought home as souvenirs. In the afternoon we had some more free time on the playground before we played some frisbee golf and completed a scavenger hunt for different letters and points marked on a map. Mr and Mrs Dalgleish joined us for dinner where we ate schnitzel, mashed potatoes, peas and corn. We also got to eat apple crumble and ice cream for dessert. After dinner we had some more free time before making yummy damper, which we have been talking about since early Term 3! Then it was time for bed. 

On Friday we woke up, packed up our bags and cabins and had pancakes, toast and cereal for breakfast. After this we had a mobile zoo come to Tandara and we got to pat and hold lots of different native Australian animals. Then we had morning tea and packed up our bus before heading into Halls Gap. Once in town we went for a walk to Venus Baths. We dipped our toes into the water and had a bit of a play before walking back again. When we got back we were lucky enough to have ice cream and a walk up the main street of Halls Gap. Then it was time to head home.  On the way home we ate our lunch on the bus and had a quick stop at Pink Lake to check out the water before arriving back at school tired and ready for a good night's sleep!

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Senior Class

By Jody

This week the year 4s and 5s did an Integrated Studies presentation on Monday about different Aid agencies and we got to eat chocolate after the presentations.We did our presentation on Tearfund.

On Thursday the year 4s and 5s made gingerbread and gave some to the Foundations, Year 1s, Year 2s and 3s, we took the rest home to our families.

Today the 4/5s made lolly wreaths and some people wanted to eat the lollies, Mr Dalgleish took some lollies.

On Monday, Mrs Dickinson taught  the 4/5s to play sardines, it was lots of fun. Sophie was the last one to find Mr Keller, Jonas wanted to hide.

The 4/5s have been doing Information Reports, some have finished and some haven’t. Sophie did Fiji, Olive did Finland, Jody did Burma, Georgia did Mexico and Ma Thay Thay did France.

Reading Achievements

The following students were recognised this week for their reading achievements:

100 nights - Isabella

150 nights - Moe Tha Zin

175 nights - Daniel

200 nights - Xavier

250 nights - Olive

Important Dates and Reminders

All calendar dates are available on PAM (SIMON Everywhere)

Term Dates

2023

Term 1   27 Jan (Staff), 30 Jan (Students) to 6 Apr

Term 2   24 Apr to 23 Jun

Term 3   10 Jul to 15 Sep

Term 4   2 Oct to 20 Dec

School Calendar

2022 December

Thursday 15

Graduation Ceremony 6pm

Friday 16

Graduation Mass 9.30am

Students' last day (dismissal time 1.00pm)

Saturday 17

Nhill Christmas Carols in the Park 6.00pm

2023 January

Friday 27

Staff return

Monday 30

Students Return

February

Wednesday 1

Foundation students rest day

Reminders

Parent Access Module PAM / SIMON Everywhere

We strongly encourage parents to use the Parent Access Module PAM (SIMON Everywhere) to inform us of student absences. These notes can be set in advance (if, for example, you know that your child will be absent a week in the future). Notes written in the diary are for communicating with teachers. Absent notes need to be directed to the office.

Please speak with office staff if you have any questions about PAM.

The Simon Everywhere app delivers instant notifications to parents' mobile phones, delivering the functionality of PAM (SIMON Parent Access Module) in an easy to navigate app.  

We request that all parents please download the Simon Everywhere app, add St Patrick's School, Nhill and login using your existing PAM credentials.  

We will use Simon Everywhere for all important notifications.  

You will be able to manage all your day-to-day school needs from the Simon Everywhere app - notify us of absences, view the lunch orders menu, read the newsletter ...

Please contact the office with any questions.

Bus notes

Parents of bus travelling students please note that Nhill College has requested that any changes to travel arrangements (e.g. if you are picking up your child after school) be notified before 3.00pm on that day.  You can do this by -

• calling our school office 53911575
• sending an email to principal@spnhill.catholic.edu.au or krintoule@spnhill.catholic.edu.au
• use the Bus Change Notification Form on their website - this is a quick and easy process on your mobile phone (hint: add this as a quick link on your phone's home screen)

Remember to follow us on Facebook

Those who are on Facebook are encouraged to follow our page at St Patrick's School, Nhill.  'Like' our page, enjoy our posts, and share them with your friends.  Stay connected through our Social Media page.

School Advisory Council

Parent Representatives

• Rebecca Curtis
• Emily Gladdis
• Moo Khu James
• Michaela Koop
• Zanther McEldrew
• Nathan Wheeler

Ex Officio

• Mons. Glynn Murphy - Parish Priest
• Kingsley Dalgleish - Principal

Next Meeting

• Tuesday 21 February 2023, 7.30pm

Our Mission

Community News

Links / Information

COVID-19 Update

Changes to Pandemic Orders (from 12 October)

The Victorian Government has announced the end of the pandemic declaration and associated pandemic orders. New settings will apply from 11.59 pm on Wednesday 12 October 2022.

Isolation & reporting requirements

Parents/carers should inform the school (by phone 53911575 or 0419929271, or in writing principal@spnhill.catholic.edu.au)

Students who test positive for COVID-19 -

• should stay home and isolate for a minimum of 5 days
• should not attend school after 5 days if still symptomatic, e.g. runny nose, sore throat, cough, shortness of breath, fever, chills, or sweats
• who are symptomatic but have not tested positive should not attend school.

Where students become symptomatic at school, they should be collected by their parents/carers and undergo testing for COVID-19.

COVID-19 reporting requirements

• Report a positive RAT to the Department of Health online (link is provided below)
• Inform those with whom they have recently been in contact, including their workplace, school and household.

Face masks

• School-aged children are encouraged to wear face masks indoors in a public space or outside in a crowded place where they can't physically distance. 
• Face masks will continue to be available for staff, students and visitors. 

The Department of Health recommends that 

• masks should be worn by a person who is a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 when leaving home. 
• masks should be worn by a person who has COVID-19 for 10 days after a positive test when they need to leave home. 

Practise good hygiene

• All staff, students and visitors to schools should undertake regular hand hygiene, particularly on arrival to school, before and after eating, after blowing their nose, coughing, sneezing or using the toilet.
• Hand sanitiser will continue to be available for staff, students and visitors.

Stay home if unwell

• The most important action school communities can take to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 is to ensure that any unwell staff, parents / carers and students do not attend school sites even with the mildest of symptoms and get tested.

Links